Project Management Stakeholder Engagement and Communication 4 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: A stakeholder suddenly escalates a concern directly to the project sponsor, bypassing the PM. The BEST response from the PM is to:
- Reprimand the stakeholder publicly
- Acknowledge the concern, investigate it, and update both the stakeholder and sponsor (Correct answer)
- Ask the sponsor to ignore the escalation
- Document it as a risk and take no further action
Correct answer: Acknowledge the concern, investigate it, and update both the stakeholder and sponsor
The PM should address the concern professionally, demonstrating responsiveness to both the stakeholder and sponsor.
Question 2: What is the MAIN difference between 'push' and 'pull' communication methods?
- Push is verbal; pull is written
- Push sends information to specific recipients; pull makes information available for recipients to access (Correct answer)
- Push is formal; pull is informal
- Push requires feedback; pull does not
Correct answer: Push sends information to specific recipients; pull makes information available for recipients to access
Push communication delivers information directly to recipients, while pull communication stores it in a shared location for voluntary access.
Question 3: During a project retrospective, a team member reports that stakeholders never felt informed. Which process was MOST likely inadequately performed?
- Define Scope
- Manage Communications (Correct answer)
- Develop Project Charter
- Control Costs
Correct answer: Manage Communications
Manage Communications is the process responsible for ensuring timely and appropriate collection and distribution of project information.
Question 4: A project manager wants to convey complex technical information to a non-technical executive. The BEST approach is to:
- Provide the full technical specification document
- Use visual summaries and plain-language executive briefings (Correct answer)
- Ask the technical lead to present instead
- Send a detailed email with all technical details
Correct answer: Use visual summaries and plain-language executive briefings
Tailoring communication to the audience's technical levelāusing visuals and plain languageāimproves comprehension and engagement.
Question 5: Which of the following is a key output of the Plan Stakeholder Engagement process?
- Stakeholder register
- Stakeholder engagement plan (Correct answer)
- Change log
- Communications management plan
Correct answer: Stakeholder engagement plan
The stakeholder engagement plan is the primary output of Plan Stakeholder Engagement, detailing strategies to involve stakeholders effectively.
Question 6: A PM discovers that two influential stakeholders have conflicting expectations about a key deliverable. The BEST action is to:
- Side with the more senior stakeholder
- Facilitate a meeting to align both stakeholders on project goals and constraints (Correct answer)
- Document the conflict and delay resolution
- Escalate to the project sponsor without meeting the stakeholders first
Correct answer: Facilitate a meeting to align both stakeholders on project goals and constraints
Facilitating alignment meetings helps resolve conflicts before they impact project outcomes.
Question 7: Nonverbal communication accounts for what approximate percentage of the overall message impact in face-to-face communication, according to commonly referenced studies?
- 7%
- 38%
- 55% (Correct answer)
- More than 70%
Correct answer: 55%
Research attributed to Mehrabian suggests approximately 55% of face-to-face message impact comes from body language and facial expressions.
Project Management Stakeholder Engagement and Communication 4
A stakeholder suddenly escalates a concern directly to the project sponsor, bypassing the PM.
The BEST response from the PM is to: